Confusion With Some Soccer Rules - Laws

There are several rules (aka laws) that seem to confuse the American spectator, especially the spectator of youth soccer. Among the most commonly misunderstood rules are:

• Handball
• Off-Side
• Goalkeeper Possession

Now, one must also bear in mind that the referees who are officiating youth soccer games may, themselves, just be learning the game, and they may also not fully understand these particular rules. Therefore, you may find that some of the calls are not consistent with the interpretations given here, but the FIFA laws are written as represented in this article.

Handball

A handball violation is to be called only when the hand plays the ball. If the ball is kicked into the hand and the ball bounces away without the hand (or arm) redirecting or otherwise controlling the ball, then there is no handball violation. A particular case in point is on the occasion of a free kick and the defenders align themselves into a defensive wall. They may position their hands and arms to protect themselves and, if the ball is kicked into them and hits the arm or hand without the player moving from the protective position, then no handball violation is to be called. There is also no handball violation called when a player is very close to an opponent who kicks the ball directly into his/her hand or arm. Clearly, there is no violation if the ball hits the hand or arm when the player is not even facing the ball when the incident occurs and, therefore could not have known that the ball was going to strike the hand.

Off-Side

The first point to be made is that the judgement of whether or not a player has committed an off-side violation is made at the moment that the ball touches or is played by a member of his/her team. Further, the player in the off-side position must, in the opinion of the referee, be:

• interfering with play
• interfering with an opponent
• gaining an advantage by being in that position

There is no off-side violation when a player in an off-side position receives the ball directly from:

• a throw-in
• a goal kick
• a corner kick

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